Horse Intricacies is an equine ethics discussion and education platform that promotes the idea that philosophy can help humans live better lives with horses. Intricacies refers to the nature of horses. We say of a novel that it is ‘intricately plotted’ when the author elaborates a skillfully interlaced narrative, asking us to read some passages many times over to get at the heart of them. This is how I think of horses: as intricate beings whom we need to read over and over to understand. Intricacies also refers to our relationships with horses: finickily woven webs with a complex history – in constant movement, growth and need of interpretation. 

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Philosophers have written about the relationship between animals and humans for millennia. Today perhaps more than ever, many feel the urgency of reassess the ways we think about, relate to and live with animals. Here philosophical wisdom is put to work to help us renew relationships between horses and humans – and help us care for the relationships that work.   

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​Horses exist as agents and subjects beyond the use humans make of them. Yet, – often despite ourselves – we frame most of our interactions with them based on their potential usefulness. For instance, we talk of a 'dressage' horse, a 'race' horse, a 'roping' horse – generally a 'riding' horse. But who is a horse as a horse? The horse-human relationship is not reducible to the relation between horse and rider, yet we frame ourselves essentially as riders with regards to them. Who are you and what is your relationship with horses, above and beyond riding and training? 

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Horse Intricacies opens a space to think and care about horses for horses. How can we think about our lives with horses through the lens of philosophy? Isn't philosophy a very theoretical field? Actually, many philosophical questions are practice oriented. They ask, for instance, about the meaning of our actions, about the nature of happiness and about how to live well. Ethics, a sub-field of philosophy, thinks about questions directly tied to how we live. And animal ethics ponders on questions such as "What responsibilities or duties do humans have towards animals?" or "Should animals work for or with humans? And if yes, what are fair work conditions for them?". 

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People are concerned to develop relationships of trust, fairness and love with their four legged companions. Books, blogs and clinics about these topics are now abundant. Yet, we rarely question our fundamental ideas, assumptions and preconceptions about what it means to live with horses, who horses are and why they share our human lives. I doubt that trust, fairness and love can sustainably arise without questioning our deep-rooted assumptions. 

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Horse Intricacies seeks to make philosophical thinking and philosophical discussions approchable: something that can be integrated into your daily life and that can help you with difficult questions, or to gain perspective.

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Want to start your philosophical exploration?

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Take a course.

Read a blog post.

Come to a conference.

Email me.

 

I don’t have the answer, but I do have many questions. And I think this is where we should start.